1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a drilling machine for a drilling rig and to a drilling rig which can be used for exploratory drillings and producing wells, especially in hydrocarbon deposits. This drilling machine can be used both onshore and offshore. The invention further relates to a method for sinking such a well.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern drilling rigs according to the prior art consist of a large number of components, such as a drawworks, an iron roughneck, a rig floor, a pipe handling system, a pipe rack, a crown block with a traveling block and a top drive, and a pipe ramp and a catwalk for the drilling pipes and various auxiliary devices for handling.
Such drilling rigs have the disadvantage that they consist of a large number of components which, because of the constant changing of the drilling location of the drilling rigs, entail elaborate and costly logistics and large numbers of personnel. In addition, the individual components are not coordinated as regards their space requirement, so that a relatively large drilling area is needed which, however, is frequently not available (offshore) or very cost-intensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,588 describes a tie rod drill for the insertion of ground tie rods, such as are used in the civil engineering industry to secure embankments or pillar walls. The tie rod drill disclosed has a tracklaying gear on which a drill upper part is mounted by means of a live ring. Arranged on this upper part is a mast, to which a slide is fastened, on which in turn drill mount is mounted via a pivot device and a hydraulic cylinder. This drill mount consists of a supporting frame, a drill drive and two grippers, in which a drilling pipe can be retained.
The tie rod drill, like other tie rod drills (e.g. EP 0 379 187 A1) is suitable only for the placement of ground tie rods in the course of civil engineering work. These ground tie wells extend only a few meters deep into the ground or rock, and have only short pipe lengths of up to a maximum of 6 meters and pipe diameters up to a maximum of 176 mm (column 1, lines 62 to 64). For sinking exploratory and productive wells, as needed for example in the oil and natural gas industry, such tie rod drills are completely unsuitable.